AI-Enabled Sales Coaching and Generation Z Engagement

Garrett HART

doi:10.2478/bsaft-2026-0007

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AI-Enabled Sales Coaching and Generation Z Engagement

Scientific Bulletin

Volume 31 (2026): Issue 1 (June 2026)

By: Garrett HART

Open Access

|Jun 2026

Abstract

Artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming increasingly embedded in customer-facing sales work through sales enablement platforms, conversational intelligence tools, performance analytics, and digital coaching systems designed to improve frontline effectiveness. However, the human consequences of these systems are still emerging. This issue is critical because customer-facing sales performance depends not only on measurement and visibility but also on salesperson motivation, relational trust, and sustained engagement in interactions that create value for both firms and customers. This article presents a structured integrative review examining how AI-enabled coaching relates to Generation Z work engagement in customer-facing sales roles. Drawing on self-determination theory and leader-member exchange theory, the review synthesizes research on AI in sales, algorithmic management, autonomy support, trust, and employee engagement to clarify the mechanisms and relational conditions through which AI-enabled coaching may strengthen or weaken engagement. Through this review, the author develops a conceptual framework in which perceived developmental AI coaching influences work engagement through autonomy support, while leader-member exchange shapes whether that coaching is interpreted as supportive or controlling. This article contributes to marketing and sales scholarship by reconnecting AI-enabled coaching to the employee side of frontline value creation and by outlining implications for future research and managerial practice.

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Articles in this issue

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/bsaft-2026-0007 | Journal eISSN: 3100-5098 | Journal ISSN: 3100-508X

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Language: English

Page range: 87 - 100

Submitted on: Apr 10, 2026

Accepted on: May 20, 2026

Published on: Jun 24, 2026

Published by: Nicolae Balcescu Land Forces Academy

In partnership with: Paradigm Publishing Services

Publication frequency: 2 issues per year

Keywords:

AI-enabled coaching,

autonomy support,

customer-facing sales,

Generation Z,

leader-member exchange

Related subjects:

Engineering,

Introductions and overviews,

Engineering, other,

Law,

Law, other,

Business and economics,

Business management,

Management, organization, corporate governance,

Social sciences,

Political science,

Military policy

© 2026 Garrett HART, published by Nicolae Balcescu Land Forces Academy
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Volume 31 (2026): Issue 1 (June 2026)